Kyiv police find three bound men they say were executed by Russian occupiers

Ukrainian police claimed that they found three bodies of civilians in Bucha, north of Kyiv. They were bound and sometimes gagged with gunshot wounds. This police claim indicates they were tortured.

Kyiv claims that more than 1,000 bodies were found in or around Bucha. It alleges that Russian forces used the area to abuse the population. The Russians occupied the area for several months in an unsuccessful attempt to seize control of the capital.

Moscow denies the allegation.

Andriy Nebytov, chief of Kyiv's regional police, stated that bullet wounds to the men's extremities indicated they had been tortured and added: "Finally each man was shot in his ear."

Images purporting to show graves and bloodied bodies were also included in the video, but the faces of the victims were blurred out.

Russia's defence ministry did not respond to an email request for comment regarding Nebytov's account.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the information he provided.

Nebytov stated that the men were found in shallow graves within woods close to Myrotske. They were blindfolded, tied with their hands, and some had been gagged. He said that the men's clothing showed they were civilians and that their identities weren't known because their faces were disfigured from torture.

Nebytov stated that forensic laboratories have now examined 1,202 civilian bodies believed to be killed by Russian occupiers within the Kyiv region.

Reuters was not able to confirm the death count or the circumstances.

Moscow rejected the claims of Western nations and Ukraine that it committed war crimes. It also denied targeting civilians as part of what the Kremlin called a "special military operations" to demilitarize its neighbour.

It called the allegations that Russian forces killed civilians in Bucha a "monstrous fabrication" meant to denigrate the Russian army.